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Chuckles · 09-15-2010, 10:41 AM

Wow! Just saw your Excella - well done. I was a "watcher" on that, looking to bring it over here but was away when it finished.

You should be very pleased with that buy, she looks great - may I suggest some nice S/S wheel trims to finish her off?

I was always told the purchase price is the 'down payment' !!! but it looks like your "Monthly's" will be very reasonable.....Have fun - I am sure you will

ednormandy · 10-07-2010, 05:57 AM

Drove it home last weekend. 1000 miles in two days. kept the RPM's at about 3400 on the interstates which was about 62 MPH. The engine is SCREAMING at that RPM. It was so loud in the cockpit I could not hear the GPS. I'm hoping I can quiet it down with some insulation, seals, etc in the engine compartment. I'll also look into an overdrive. The power without a turbo suprised me. On the interstates there were only a couple of grades that slowed me down under 55MPH but I never had to downshift and was passing the 18 wheelers going uphill. Once I hit the Ozarks and got on the two lane roads I needed to shift into 2nd gear for most of the steeper grades. In 2nd gear at 3400 RPM I was going 35MPH but had plenty of power to pull the grades. With the exception of the NOISE it was a plesant trip.

ednormandy · 10-07-2010, 07:37 AM

BTW I changed my profile to 1979 Excella 28. The eBay ad said 1981 but they only made Excella's until 1979. It was explained to me by the seller that the chassies was purchased in 1979 by Airstream, Built during 1980 and sold as new after Sept 1st of 1980 which made the original title a 1981. The owners manual says "1979" the title says "1981"

Bought a "Cyclo" and set of wheel covers on eBay yesterday, the fun is about to begin!

John H. · 10-07-2010, 11:27 AM

You may look into the over-under drive system

I sure would not be without one

Very well worth the Investment

Smartstream · 10-07-2010, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ednormandy

Drove it home last weekend. 1000 miles in two days. kept the RPM's at about 3400 on the interstates which was about 62 MPH. The engine is SCREAMING at that RPM. It was so loud in the cockpit I could not hear the GPS. I'm hoping I can quiet it down with some insulation, seals, etc in the engine compartment. I'll also look into an overdrive. The power without a turbo suprised me. On the interstates there were only a couple of grades that slowed me down under 55MPH but I never had to downshift and was passing the 18 wheelers going uphill. Once I hit the Ozarks and got on the two lane roads I needed to shift into 2nd gear for most of the steeper grades. In 2nd gear at 3400 RPM I was going 35MPH but had plenty of power to pull the grades. With the exception of the NOISE it was a plesant trip.

Glad you made it home with no problems. You may want to check your rear end gear ratio. Mine has 4.56 gears and makes about 67-68 mph at 3300 rpm. Torque converter slip will vary a bit. The high ratio gears and the diesel torque gives you great power on the hills but hurts in the top speed. Second gear max speed is a killer as you discovered. The gear vendors overdrive makes a huge difference noise wise and top/cruising speed wise. The engine will live longer when not running at max governed speed all the time and you will be happier at the fuel pump.

You can change your profile back. The chassis may be a '79 but it is an Airstream and was built and sold as a '81. By the way mine is listed as an Excella and sold as an '82. It also has the turbo which I understand was standard equipment in '82.

Cheers, Dan

Mike Leary · 10-07-2010, 02:54 PM

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this turbo/non-turbo deal.
My understanding, still, is AS never made a normally-aspirated mo/ho.
Also, Isuzu wants no more than 3200 rpm. With our overdrive, we cruise at 65, no noise and 15 mpg. Here's our first mo/ho, a 78 Excella.Turbo, by the way.

ALANSD · 10-07-2010, 05:59 PM

you got a nice one at a fair price. The market kinda sucks now, and has for a few years. It's a great time to buy one.
I still miss mine after 4 years. But do enjoy the old trailers I have had since.

Smartstream · 10-07-2010, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Leary

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this turbo/non-turbo deal.
My understanding, still, is AS never made a normally-aspirated mo/ho.
Also, Isuzu wants no more than 3200 rpm. With our overdrive, we cruise at 65, no noise and 15 mpg. Here's our first mo/ho, a 78 Excella.Turbo, by the way.

I think Airstream sold the the early Isuzu's without the turbo but they were easy to add on if wanted. The Isuzu's Airstream used were actually all normally aspirated. The turbo is an aftermarket add on like the rear air suspension by American Carrier Equipment. The turbo is a BAE low pressure unit that maxes out at 10 psi. The Isuzu turbo engines had different pistons with under deck oil cooling and a few other little goodies that allow 15-18 psi. boost. I don't think the full turbo Isuzu engines were used until the late '80's.

Do you know what rear axle gears you have Mike? With the 4.56 gears my Moho it will do 67-68 mph at 3200 rpm. The overdrive drops that by about 500 rpm and makes it nice and quiet. It's easy to tweak another 100 or 200 rpm out of the Governor or the tach reads may be a little optimistic. It's hard to say without some good test equipment.

Cheers, Dan

Rayk · 10-25-2010, 10:54 AM

I have a 1981 28' Excella with a non turbo Isuzu. I have owned this unit for over 12 years. I have worked on every area and systems of this unit. What I understand is that the diesel was was a $10,000.00 option in 1981. The early built units were non turbo, mine is a non turbo. The later units used an aftermarket turbo. These units are noisy when on the highway. I have redone all the doghouse insulation and a new exhaust system, still noisy. The next upgrade will be the airfilter intake system. Original is a modified air cleaner canister mounted right under the dog house, which creates a lot of noise. I will retrofit with a "K&N" style system to ket the intake opening away from the drivers area. I know that the unit will always be on the noisy side no matter what. Mileage is great at 15mpg. I was also told the non turbos are a 300,000+ engine, for what its worth.

Mike Leary · 10-25-2010, 02:16 PM

Turbos must have been a option earlier; our first Mo/ho was a 280 '79 with a turbo. We get 15 mpg with ours (honest) O.K., 14.9.

No offense, but the Isuzu is one of the quietest diesels made, we've had campground folk think it's a gasser. Have the valves been adjusted?

ScrapIrony-2 · 10-26-2010, 12:12 PM

While we get 5-6 mpg, we love our 345LE...there are always going to be problems with units of this age, or older, but if you have ever done a check on newer models, the return of value is immeasurable...(sp?)...the fiberglass ones are useless, and things like the ceiling fall with reckless abandon...the older coaches have problems well worth treating...it's an aluminum skin X 2, and the construction is defiant of current day production...cap it off, and call yourself lucky...cheaper than the slide-out rigs going for $250K up, and much more comfortable...AND, it's an Airstream...gotta replace a tranny and/or an engine...???still cheaper than the big rigs you see in Camping World or any other big rig repair shop, getting "adjustments" to their new rigs...slide-out problems, diesel changes, tv doesn't work...we have an original problem that doesn't cost nearly as much as the down-payment on one of the airborne albatrosses that cruise the highways...AND, we're smug in that knowledge..
we have the advantage...keep yer AS MOHO, repair it as is needed, and be happy with yer score...you can't find a better moho without mucho-mega bucks, and the comfort of an AS moho is one hell of a return...it's an AIRSTREAM...mike

B4WEDI · 10-26-2010, 01:35 PM

[QUOTE=ednormandy;If over 3000 people viewed this auction and I am the only person in the world to bid on it, what is wrong with it?[/QUOTE]

Ain't Ebay grand ?? I always get a warm feeling all over when I win something, knowing I was the one guy willing to spend more money than anyone else in the whole world for that auction..... heh, heh, heh, makes ya feel like a real "Winner" doesn't it ?

You'll do OK, have fun and good luck !

T & K